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Consider this:

> テスト１, テスト２, テスト３ etc. (Taken from my exercise books. The tests are labelled
> as such up to 30)

**(Question)** Should numbers that are used with loanwords like `テスト` be read
with `いち`, `に`, `さん` etc.? Or read as `ワン`, `ツー`, `スリー` etc.?

I feel that it's more consistent to use "English derivatives" all the way,
than to have "English derivative"+"Japanese reading".


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readings loanwords numbers
How to read words like テスト with ordinal numbers?


There is no real anwser to your question: there is no way you **should**
count. People around me use both in similar situations. All you need is to be
consistent.


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I think the most natural and usual way is using Japanese numbers (いち, に,
さん...). テスト is a loan word, but it's a Japanese word. Think of it this way:
should you use German numeral readings when using German loan words?

The English readings may be used for literary purposes, like chapter titles in
a manga or book, for example, but they would be the exception.


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I am not sure why you feel it more consistent to use "English derivatives" all
the way. Does it mean that, if you have an English-derived word in a sentence,
the whole sentence should be made using only English-derived word? I think it
is much better to read it in Japanese reading.

When reading mathematical variables or chemical formulae, often, non-
specialists tend to read the subscripted number in English-derived reading if
they are small enough. For example:

> t1 (ティーワン)  
>  H2O (エイチツーオー)

But when the number is large enough, or if the reading becomes complex enough,
they switch to Japanese reading:

> t60 (ティーろくじゅう)  
>  C12H22O11 (シーじゅうにエイチにじゅうにオーじゅういち)

This is stupid. Probably non-specialists do not have enough knowledge to read
large numbers in the English-derived way, but nevertheless do so for small
numbers, and do not think about inconsistency. On the other hand, people with
enough consideration do not pronounce it in an inconsistent way but read the
numbers in the Japanese way regardless of the size of the number.


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